Dir. Martin McDonagh (2017)
Rated R (This movie is pretty dark. And there is a lot of language. If you don't like dark, then don't watch this.) Warning: there's pretty much spoilers littered throughout this entire thing, so read with caution. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri follows a woman named Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) who is trying to find justice in the rape and murder of her teenage daughter. Months after the murder has taken place, police have yet to find a suspect or made any kind of progress on the case. Mildred finally decides to take action, turning her anger towards the local police department, specifically the chief of police, Sheriff Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). She paints three billboards on a quiet country road that blatantly calls out the police. It gets the entire town talking, and splits them in two: those who take Mildred's side, and those who take the Chief's side. The film follows Mildred on her quest to avenge her daughter's killer, and it offers an in depth analysis on the human character and what people do in worst case scenarios. This is one of the most complex movies I have ever seen. This movie throws so much at you, and there is so much to think about. I actually saw this movie about two weeks ago, and I still find myself thinking about it a lot and how I think about it. I don't know if it's bad to write a review on a movie that you haven't JUST seen, but it still is pretty fresh in my mind. This isn't a movie that you'll soon forget. The thing that sticks out to me the most in this film is the depth and range of the characters in it. Mildred has been through the traumatic experience of losing a child, a loss that does not equal a lot. I cannot even imagine the grieving process for that, and for a majority of the film, I found myself sympathizing for her. I thought she was justified in putting up the billboards (despite the Sheriff dying of terminal cancer. More on that later), and I felt the same anger that she did in the police not doing anything or finding any suspect in the murder. There gets to a point when I cannot sympathize with Mildred's actions, like when she throws the employee who helps her with the billboards out the window, or sets the police station on fire. I hate the scene where one of the only genuinely nice people in the town, James (Peter Dinklage), takes Mildred on a date and she embarrasses him and hurts his feelings. The scene with the priest and the dentist also found to be disturbing and/or unnecessary. I think that all of these scenes with Mildred that make the viewer feel so many different ways amounts to one answer: Mildred is a flawed and broken human who is one of the most complex protagonists ever. She may not even be considered a protagonist. She has suffered a huge loss, and the way that she grieves isn't meant to be showcased as admirable or relatable, it just is as it is. The acting on McDormand's part is brilliant, to say the least. I wouldn't mind and I HOPE that she rakes up a ton of awards for her part. I appreciated this movie a lot because it gave me the chance to see actors like McDormand and Rockwell in lead roles, when I had previously only seen them as supporting actors. The entire cast had so much talent; they were moving and captivating, and that makes any film that much better. The relationship between Mildred and Chief Willoughby was fascinating. The plot of the movie surrounds the idea that Mildred is furious with the police department, particularly the Sheriff Willoughby, and their inability to solve her daughter's case. At the same time, Mildred and Willoughby have an oddly loving relationship at times, as he is dying of cancer and she sympathizes for him. One of the better scenes in the movie is when Willoughby is questioning Mildred after having drilled a hole into the dentist's finger, and they get into a screaming argument until Willoughby coughs up blood onto Mildred. He immediately apologizes and she is there to help him, after they had just gotten into a huge fight. Despite all the stuff that Mildred does that would infuriate any police chief and probably lead them to arrest Mildred, Willoughby is patient and almost accepting. The film also shows Willoughby's loving side with his wife and two young daughters. When he dies after committing suicide, he writes Mildred a heart warming letter. It showed that their relationship was more good than bad, and they were almost friends despite her anger. Something unique about this movie is the humor in it. The tone of the movie is dark, and that is made known to the viewer from the very beginning. I've seen plenty of dark comedies, but this wasn't one. It was almost like when the humor was added in, I was taken aback. It was surprising and confusing, but that doesn't mean that I didn't like it. I like humor in almost everything. It just took me by surprise because as I was watching it, it didn't seem like the kind of movie to have any humor in it at all. The scenes with Frances and the deer and some of the banter between her and the police officers give this movie so many intricate aspects. Also, the ending. The movie ends with Frances and Dixon (Sam Rockwell) driving together to go find and kill this man who was guilty of rape (not Mildred's daughter, though). They're in the car, and they are talking to one another, and at this point in the movie, the viewer's opinions on each of these characters has completely changed. Dixon was a horrible tyrant who made a terrible police officer at the beginning of the movie, and then he has a change of heart after reading a letter that Willoughby left him and turns nice. He starts to become a detective and takes a stand in Mildred's daughter's case. I wouldn't be surprised if these two (Mildred and Dixon) ended up together, but the movie ends with them in the car. So yeah, this movie is great. I absolutely loved it. It's not a movie you want to watch if you love happy endings, or cookie cutter plots that have a not-so-bad conflict involved. There's no character that a viewer can really identify with or relate to, or a character that viewers particularly root for. This movie is a beautiful one if you like dark, twisted movies with humor (perhaps even though there shouldn't be any), and more importantly, movies that just revolve around the human character itself (I know I've said that about 100 times). There is nothing pretty about this movie, yet I still loved it. It is a hard R, but I really think it is worth a watch.
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AuthorCasey Land Archives
January 2018
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